Environmentalist questions safety of Tenn. nuclear plant's foundation

Don Safer, board chairman of the Tennessee Environmental Council, is raising questions about the safety of the 40-year-old concrete foundation of Tennessee's Watts Bar Unit 2 nuclear reactor, which is being completed after work on it was suspended in 1985. "Roads and bridges don't last 40 years, and you're about to license this [to operate] for another 40 years," Safer said. However, "inspections show it is capable of performing its function," said Robert Haag, a Nuclear Regulatory Commission construction projects chief. The project's cost -- originally estmated at $2.5 billion -- could rise to $4.5 billion due to delays.